Brighton's Barnes could see four-match ban extended after being charged for trip on referee

By
Andy James

PUBLISHED:

16:47 GMT, 13 March 2013

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UPDATED:

18:07 GMT, 13 March 2013

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Brighton's Ashley Barnes has been charged by the Football Association for the apparent trip on referee Nigel Miller on March 9 at the Reebok Stadium.

Barnes appeared to make contact with Miller in the closing seconds of his side's 1-0 defeat by Bolton, an offence for which he was shown a red card.

His punishment was a four-game ban, one more than the standard three due to it being the striker's second dismissal of the season.

Scroll down to watch footage of the incident…

Marching orders: Barnes is dismissed by referee Nigel Miller

Lengthy ban: Barnes has been sent off twice this season

But, having considered the evidence, the FA have opened proceedings which could lead to an enhanced punishment.

The FA have ruled that the incident displayed 'truly exceptional circumstances' and as such it has been referred to an independent three-man commission who can recommend a further ban if they feel it necessary.

A statement today read: 'The FA has
charged Brighton and Hove Albion's Ashley Barnes following his side's
game against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday 9 March 2013.

'It is alleged that Barnes's
behaviour in relation to the match official, for which the player was
dismissed for violent conduct towards the end of the game, constituted
an offence whereby the standard punishment that would otherwise apply
was clearly insufficient.'

Close quarters: Miller and Barnes are just yards away from each other as Bolton clear

Trip: Barnes sticks out a boot as Miller sets off on a run

Whistle: Miller sticks up his hand as he stops the game

Barnes has been given until 6pm on Thursday to respond.

Speaking immediately after the match –
and before reviewing video evidence – Brighton manager Gus Poyet said:
'I would like to see it.

'Before I talk to him I'm going to have a look because if he's done something to the referee…let's wait and see.

'My way of managing this is I prefer
the player to calm down because if you go to the dressing room and you
ask them straight away then they will put their excuse in there and
blame somebody else.'

The second tier of English football has been even more crazily unpredictable than usual this season and did not disappoint on Tuesday night.

How about Kevin Phillips, 39 years old, and scorer of an eight-minute hat-trick for Crystal Palace in the 4-2 win over Hull

The same Hull who thrashed Birmingham last weekend and who started the night in an automatic promotion place. Steve Bruce’s team are down to third while Palace lurk a point behind.

At fogbound Nottingham Forest, the pre-match chat was all about the second coming of Billy Davies. No mention of Sir Alex Ferguson or Cristiano Ronaldo at all.

Second coming: Forest are making a late charge for the play-offs under Billy Davies

The force appears to be with Davies. Ipswich had two players sent off and came within four minutes of holding out for a point only to concede to a deflected goal from Lewis McGugan.

Since returning as manager, Davies has drawn one and won the last four games. With that sort of momentum the play-offs are beckoning.

Late goals were the theme of the night at Leicester, Bolton and Huddersfield, too. Just down the road from Old Trafford, Chris Eagles continued Wanderers’ fine run with an added-time winner against Lancashire rivals Blackburn.

Rest assured that none of the 19,063 fans at the Reebok would have given United a passing thought – apart from hoping they would lose, of course.

Danny Ward came off the bench to score in stoppage time and give Mark Robins his first home win as Huddersfield manager at the expense of a Middlesbrough side, who are in freefall. Eight defeats in 11 games is doing nothing for Tony Mowbray’s mood.

The biggest attendance of the night was 22,660 at Leicester, who had Manchester United loanee Michael Keane to thank for yet another added-time goal – an equaliser against Leeds.

Some people will always remember Tuesday as the night Roy Keane burned whatever bridges he had left with Ferguson after backing the sending off of Nani.

Wolves fans will remember it as the night manager Dean Saunders won his first match after 10 attempts.

Rare win: Wolves picked up their first three points under Dean Saunders at Millwall

The 2-0 win at Millwall took Saunders’s team out of the bottom three and sets them up nicely for the next match, except it is at Forest.

Rant of the night came from Dave Jones, manager of Sheffield Wednesday, after a 2-1 defeat at Watford. Suggesting the referee was more suited to the Sunday League will not go down well at the FA.

Howler of the night came from the same match. Watford goalkeeper Jonathan Bond scuffed a back pass from Marco Cassetti, which allowed Michail Antonio to run round him for a simple tap-in.

Brighton’s point at bottom club Bristol City came at the expense of a bad achilles injury to striker Craig Mackail-Smith, who is out for the rest of the season, which is a huge blow to their play-off hopes.

Last, but not least, even runaway leaders Cardiff are wobbling. Craig Noone popped up eight minutes from time with an equaliser against Derby, who were so short of bodies they could only name five substitutes.

Liverpool's Academy is brimming with
talent and Jordon Ibe, one of its most gifted pupils, showed why he is a
name to note by firing his side into the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals.

Ibe, who was brought to Anfield in an
initial 500,000 deal from Wycombe Wanderers in December 2011, scored
twice as Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners against Leeds to set up a trip to
Hull City in the next round. Jack Dunn completed the scoring in injury
time after Lewis Cook had pulled one back.

Scroll down for video

Hot shot: Liverpool's Jordan Ibe scores the opening goal

Take that: Liverpool's Jordan Ibe celebrates his strike

Though Leeds – who had the backing off more than 250 hardy souls from Yorkshire – showed signs of promise in the opening exchanges and finished strongly, they had no answer when Ibe went impressively through the gears in the space of 10 first minutes to take the tie away from the visitors.

Frank McParland, Liverpool’s Academy Director, said: ‘It was a really physical game and I am just pleased we have come through it. Leeds were strong and had more experience and were older than most of our boys.

‘It is great to be in the next round and, of course, Jordon’s performance was excellent. He has been doing really well for the reserves this year and with him being 17, he can play in this competition next year. He took his goals really well.’

Playing on the left-flank and looking to dovetail at every opportunity with Jerome Sinclair – who became the youngest player in Liverpool’s history when he had a brief run out in the Carling Cup against West Brom last September – it was not difficult to see why Ibe is held in such regard.

High jump: Liverpool's Jordan Ibe tangles with Alex Mowatt

Top man: Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard was at the match

He showed great poise in the 29th minute
to skip inside a challenge, after being teed up by Dan Trickett-Smith,
and rifle a shot through the legs of Leeds defender Afolabi Coker, that
left keeper Eric Grimes with no chance.

If the manner in which he dispatched that was impressive, his second
goal was even more so. When Liverpool midfielder Jordan Rossiter won a
challenge deep inside his own half, Ibe had no other option but to set
off on a run.

Such was his change of pace, though, he left Leeds’ Alex Purver trailing
before slaloming around Corey Roper to crack a drive past Grimes. Ibe
went on Liverpool’s tour to the USA last summer and, if he maintains
this progress, another call up to Brendan Rodgers’ squad will not be far
away.

This, however, was not a one-sided contest. Leeds, who came into this
tie having suffered just one defeat all season, started brightly and had
a goal correctly disallowed in the 24th minute when substitute Eoghan
Stokes was adjudged to have fouled Liverpool keeper Ryan Fulton.

Liverpool struggled to find a rhythm in the second half yet Leeds could
not make their domination of possession pay. Cook gave hope of a late
comeback when he cracked a shot past Fulton after being teed up by Alex
Mowatt but their pursuit of an equaliser left them susceptible to a
quick break.

So it proved in injury time when Dunn and substitute Kristoffer Peterson
combined to leave the first named with the easy task of finishing from
six yards.

Bolton forward Sordell being helped for 'obsession' with Twitter and Facebook

By
Lee Bryan

PUBLISHED:

20:59 GMT, 8 January 2013

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UPDATED:

21:25 GMT, 8 January 2013

Bolton striker Marvin Sordell is being helped by his club for a possible 'obsession' with social networking sites.

Wanderers' manager Dougie Freedman revealed the striker Marvin Sordell was being advised about his excessive use of Twitter and Facebook.

Freedman, speaking on BBC Radio Manchester this morning, added that the 21-year-old had found it difficult to settle since moving to the Lancashire club from Watford last February.

Social networking addiction: Marvin Sordell is being helped

Sordell was the victim of abuse on Twitter and Facebook this season, following an incident in which a 13-year-old Millwall fan was banned for racially abusing him during a match.

Freedman said social networking is a new problem for coaches to deal with.

'It could be bordering on an obsession with Twitter and Facebook and all the things that go on with these kids,' he said in the Daily Telegraph.

'We are trying to work with him – by taking his phone off him.'

Sick: One person threatened Sordell with this vile image on Facebook

Snooker halls, pubs, golf courses and betting shops used to the be the favourite domain of off-duty players but nowadays it seems cyberspace is where many spend their free time.

As the wages of Premier League stars continue to spiral into the stratosphere, Twitter has become a useful interface between fans and players they idolise.

While much of it is harmless knockabout chit-chat, such as avid contributor Rio Ferdinand's revelation on Monday that he was cooking 'smoke salmon fillets with rice and tomatoes' the rapid growth of Twitter also causes problems.

Twitter lover: Rio Ferdinand can't get enough of the social network

Ferdinand, whose three million followers get regular updates on the school run, his musical tastes and occasionally some football insight, has fallen foul of his itchy Twitter finger.

In July he sparked a row when he praised a Tweet from a follower describing Chelsea defender Ashley Cole as a 'choc ice' – a term that can be used as a slur to describe black people who are seen to betray their own ethnicity.

Ferdinand was slapped with a 45,000 pounds fine by the Football Association and is not the only United player to discover the dangers of Twitter.

Wayne Rooney became embroiled in various rows with rival fans, threatening to put one 'to sleep in 10 seconds' after being on the receiving end of abuse.

Volatile: Joey Barton often rants on Twitter

Former Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton, now at French club Olympique Marseille, regularly takes to Twitter as his preferred mode of communicating his thoughts.

When not passing himself off as a de-facto 'people's philosopher' Barton's can often be seen ranting at his critics.

There have been many other clashes on Twitter, with the relationship between players and former professionals turned pundits, particularly volatile.

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson took exception to former England midfielder Paul Merson saying on Sky Sports that #he couldn't defend for toffee', launching a volley of abuse at Merson from his telephone keypad.

Most clubs provide their players with guidelines about using Twitter and Facebook.

Sturridge set for Cup debut after completing 12m move to Liverpool from Chelsea

European Cup and 2010 and 2012 FA Cups in his trophy cabinet.

STURRIDGE TIMELINE

1989: Born September 1, in Birmingham.2003: Signs for Manchester City's academy at the age of 13, following trials with Aston Villa and Coventry.2004: Named player of the tournament and finishes as top scorer as City win the Under-15 Nike Cup.2006: Signs professional contract with City.2007: February 3 – Makes City debut in 2-0 defeat to Reading.2008: January 27 – Scores first professional goal in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United.2009: Finishes the season with four goals in 26 appearances.July 3 – Turns down a new deal at City to sign for Chelsea.August 11 – Earns first England Under-21 cap against Netherlands.2010: January 2 – Scores first goals for Chelsea, in a 5-0 FA Cup thrashing of Watford.May 15 – Comes off the bench at Wembley as Chelsea secure a Premier League and FA cup double by beating Portsmouth 1-0.2011: January 11 – Joins Bolton on a loan deal until the end of the season,February 2 – Scores 90th-minute winner on his Bolton debut as Wanderers beat Wolves 1-0.May 22 – Sent-off during his final Bolton appearance against former club Manchester City. Scored eight goals in 12 games during the loan spell.October 2 – Scores a brace during Chelsea's 5-1 thrashing of former club Bolton.November 15 – Makes England debut as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 victory over Sweden.2012: April 29 – Scores the opener in a 6-1 victory over London rivals QPR to keep Chelsea's hopes of Champions League qualification alive.May 19 – Remains on the bench as an unused substitute as Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties to win the Champions League for the first time.July-August – Makes a full recovery from meningitis to represent Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London, scoring against both the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay but missing a crucial penalty against South Korea in the quarter-finals.October 31 – On the scoresheet as Chelsea need extra time to eliminate Manchester United and reach the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup with a 5-4 victory.2013: January 2 – Leaves Chelsea to join Liverpool for an undisclosed fee. After signing a long-term contract, he says: 'I am humbled and happy to be here. I've not signed to play for a couple of years and then move on. I've signed to be here for as long as possible. It's a humongous club.'

Wolves 0 Ipswich 2: McCarthy has the last laugh on Molineux return as pressure builds on Solbakken

PUBLISHED:

17:11 GMT, 29 December 2012

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UPDATED:

17:44 GMT, 29 December 2012

Mick McCarthy enjoyed a winning return to Molineux as his Ipswich side piled further misery on former club Wolves and under-pressure boss Stale Solbakken.

McCarthy was back in the Black Country for the first time since being sacked in February, ending a six-year spell with Wanderers, and was joined by assistant Terry Connor, who succeeded him in the Wolves hot seat before himself being replaced by Norwegian Solbakken in the summer.

A great ovation greeted the pair before kick-off and they also ended up having the last laugh amid a chorus of boos which rung around Molineux as Wolves' miserable season continued.

Aaron Cresswell's well-worked goal and
neat finish, his third of the season, opened the scoring in the 33rd
minute, and the points were secured by DJ Campbell just after the hour
mark when he found himself clean through, a 10th goal in 16 appearances
for the on-loan QPR striker.

McCarthy has now guided Ipswich to seven wins in 12 games since taking
the reins at the start of November, compared to one in 13 prior to his
appointment.

McCarthy kept faith with the same XI for a fifth successive game while
Solbakken made two changes in response to the embarrassing 3-0 home
defeat to Peterborough on Boxing Day, Bjorn Sigurdarson and David Davis
coming in.

And it was Wolves who should have been awarded a penalty after just two
minutes as Kevin Doyle latched onto Christophe Berra's long ball only to
be bundled over by Luke Chambers, who went unpunished.

Lee Martin immediately fired off target at the other end when he really
should have done better, with the Town wide man shooting straight at
Carl Ikeme soon after.

A tale of two bosses: Solbakken (left) greets McCarthy before the game

Wolves' influential winger Bakary Sako twice sent efforts wide before
the half-hour mark but there was very little to trouble either
goalkeeper.

That was until the 33rd minute when Cresswell opened the scoring in
style.

The left-back ventured forward and, having laid the ball off,
continued his run and received it back before finishing right footed
inside the far post.
The home side produced very little in response and were duly booed off at the interval.

Guirane N'Daw almost caught out Ikeme with a great 30-yard effort immediately after half-time.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, a reported January target for McCarthy, sent a teasing ball across goal which Doyle failed to connect with.

A real lull in proceedings passed until the hour mark but the game was lit up by Campbell's second.

The forward raced onto Bradley Orr's long ball and waited for the right moment before sending a composed finish under Ikeme.

Solbakken immediately made a triple substitution, with the withdrawal of Doyle greeted by fierce opposition from supporters.

And they voiced more displeasure at the full-time whistle as Town
celebrated their first win at Molineux in 21 years, with substitute
Michael Chopra wasting a great chance for a third in injury time.

Wolves 1 Birmingham 0: King scores at wrong end to hand derby win to Solbakken's men

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UPDATED:

19:43 GMT, 8 December 2012

Marlon King's own goal handed Wolves the derby spoils as they saw off neighbours Birmingham at Molineux.

King has bagged 13 goals for City this season, but he found the net at the wrong end in the first half to hand Wanderers their first home win in seven attempts stretching back to late September.

The striker sliced past Jack Butland when attempting to clear Bakary Sako's drilled free-kick at the front post, with Nathan Redmond also guilty of turning his back on the ball as part of a one-man wall.

Wolves put in a much-improved
performance after the break and enjoyed several chances to extend their
advantage, but profligate finishing and some superb saves from Butland
ensured the result hung in the balance until the final whistle.

It was only the second time Wolves
have won back-to-back games this season after last weekend's 4-1 triumph
at Bristol City, a result which ended a nine-match winless streak.

Birmingham went into the clash also
underperforming this term and struggling at the wrong end of the npower
Championship table, although it was they who started the better, Paul
Caddis seeing his curling effort from 20 yards well parried away by Carl
Ikeme.

Bjorn Sigurdarson found the
side-netting for the hosts after good work down the left by Sako before
Ikeme had to be alert once again to tip over after Roger Johnson and
Jonathan Spector tussled to get on the end of Redmond's set-piece.

Blues were certainly posing the
greater attacking threat and looking the more lively, but Wolves were
steadily coming into the game more as the first half wore on.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake saw his appeals
for a penalty waved away before Kevin Doyle put the ball into the net
only to be denied by the assistant's flag.

But Wolves did get the breakthrough just minutes later.

Ebanks-Blake went down easily under a
soft challenge from Steven Caldwell right on the byline outside the
penalty area. Sako whipped in the resulting free-kick and King could
only divert the ball into his own net at the near post when trying to
clear.

It was a goal Wolves arguably did not
deserve on the overall balance of play in the first half, but that will
not have mattered much to under-pressure manager Stale Solbakken.

Wolves have been heavily criticised of late for lethargic second-half performances, but that was certainly not the case tonight.

Sigurdarson found himself clean
through almost immediately after the restart only to fire straight at
Butland, although the assistant's flag was raised.

Doyle's driving run ended with a shot
narrowly wayward of Butland's left-hand post before Sako finished
another mazy venture forward with an effort off target as Wanderers
dominated.

Stephen Ward brought a solid save out
of Butland at his near post, with Curtis Davies deflecting Doyle's shot
on to the top of the crossbar from the resulting corner.

Butland then produced a superb instinctive save to keep out Sigurdarson's header from Sako's corner, keeping Blues in the game.

But they could not force a late
leveller and Wolves were left celebrating only their third derby success
over their local rivals in 15 attempts.

Hammers boss Allardyce admits interest in bringing Anelka back from China in January

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UPDATED:

23:17 GMT, 17 November 2012

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce admits he would be interested in a January move for Nicolas Anelka.

The 33-year-old is currently plying his trade in China for Shanghai Shenhua but has recently been linked with a move back to the Barclays Premier League.

Allardyce, who has guided the Hammers to sixth place in the table after the opening 11 fixtures, signed Anelka for Bolton for a then-club record fee in the summer of 2006 and revealed he would like to work with the France striker once again.

Welcome back Could Nicolas Anelka return to London

'It could interest me, of course it could,' he said.

'It would be of interest if that is a possibility financially for us and he wanted to come. I have had no conversations with Nicolas' agent or anything like that at this time.'

Anelka was seen as a marquee signing for Wanderers when he was signed from Turkish side Fenerbahce and his form at the Reebok Stadium earned him a big move to Chelsea a year and a half later.

Allardyce, who has yet to see big-name summer signing Andy Carroll score for the Hammers, believes Anelka transformed his Bolton side into a team that could challenge at the right end of the table.

He said: 'His professionalism and dedication was why he was such a good player and we never had problems at Bolton at the time he was with us.“He was the difference – he was the reason we went into the top end, the top four, rather than the top eight.'

Old pals: Anelka and Sam allardyce in their Bolton pomp

Much has been made over the years of Anelka's demeanour on and off the pitch but Allardyce reckons the perception of the former Arsenal and Real Madrid forward is off the mark and hopes the family man could be tempted to head back to London.

Asked whether he ever had a problem with Anelka's questionable temperament Allardyce said: 'He never was like that in his entire time I had him.

'He was disappointed I left, when he came and played for me I had him at a very, very good time – probably at the height of his career, I would think, because he had matured into a dedicated professional.

'I think he has always been dedicated but he got sidetracked by certain situations through his younger days but he learnt from that, his experience across Europe.

'He had a girlfriend, who is now his wife, and his family and I think that has matured him – I think Nicolas has still got his family here in London, I don't think they moved out to China.'

One stumbling block for a potential deal would come if Anelka refused to take a drop in his wages as he is currently reported to be earning around 250,000 a week in China.

He has also been linked with a return to Liverpool or a move to fellow strugglers QPR but all three clubs would be hard pushed to fork out the sort of money the Frenchman is currently bringing in from Shenhua.

The Bolton striker – who hardly uses Twitter anymore – believes the social networking site is an unnecessary distraction that can play on the mind of young footballers.

'If it was me, I would advise not to go on it. I enjoyed my time on it because it gave you the opportunity to have conversations with fans and people and charities – that was fantastic.

Abuse: Kevin Davies (right) was forced to quit Twitter

'But when it gets to the point where you get abuse and stuff I think it can play on your mind, it can affect you.

'If you’re not sleeping at night wondering what you’re going to be waking up to, I don’t think you really gain anything out of being on there.'

Davies, who made his 600th career appearance in Wanderers’ 2-2 draw at Blackpool on Saturday, was an active participant on the social media site until May 2011.

The 34-year-old took exception to abusive messages aimed at himself and wife Emma and although he still uses his Twitter page, it is predominantly to retweet information on charitable causes.

Marvin Sordell was the subject of vile slurs on the site after claiming he was racially abused while warming up as a substitute during Bolton’s defeat against Millwall last month.

Abuse: Marvin Sordell was subjected to slurs on Twitter

An offensive banner about the England Under-21 forward unfurled at the New Den last weekend in the wake of a 13-year-old fan being banned over the Sordell incident stands as the latest fall-out.]

On the barbs thrown his team-mate’s way, Davies said: 'I’ve heard a few things. I don’t really go on Twitter anymore so I can’t really comment. Not that Davies thinks Twitter is without its merits, having enjoyed the opportunity for fan interaction that the modern game often denies.

'When I was on there I had some great conversations with people,' he said.

'Sometimes after games you can’t sleep and you’re having random conversations with a fan – that side, I absolutely loved it.

'People say it’s only ‘the one per cent’ but one per cent of 180,000 people following me, that’s still a lot of stick to be getting.

'If you get family and things brought into it like that I just don’t think you need that in your life.'

Still going strong: Davies remained with Bolton despite their relegation

In the wake of Bolton’s 5-0 FA Cup semi-final thrashing against Stoke in April 2011, seasoned-pro Davies found the slings and arrows difficult to deal with – making him ponder the detrimental effect of Twitter on younger players like Sordell.

He added: 'After semi-finals and stuff I was hurting and everyone else was, and it just comes to a point where you’re constantly checking, wondering if you’re getting stick.

'Why do you need that Just concentrate on your football. What you are gaining out of it as a 21 or 22-year I old, I don’t know.

'I came off it and I felt a big weight off my shoulders because you’re constantly having to wonder what you’re tweeting or having to justify yourself.'